I have a Craftsman 917.289700 with a 24hp B&S engine. Today it quit running while mowing. I thought it was gas, so I filled it up, but now it is a dead duck. Read in my manual, if you can call it that, to check a 30 amp fuse behind the dash, but no can see. Does anyone have a photo that would locate this for me?

Answers

The fuse should be near the solenoid. There might be a access panel that has 2 screws holding it on near your feet on the seat side. The solenoid should be inside, and the wire on the side of the solenoid goes to the fuse.

I am 13 years old and I have a Craftsman 19.5 turbo cooled 2 cylinder lawn tractor; there is no mow deck at all. I bought it for my birthday last year.

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I can't get it started. I think it is the carb and the fuel pump. I just don't know how to fix those two things. Does anyone know how? I am trying to get it going so I can do the tractor pull at the Windsor fair.

I have an 8yr old 42" Craftsman riding tractor that won't start. It will turn over a few seconds then stop and begin clicking. Once I was able to start it after I placed both hands flat on the thing that turns when you turn the key on and manually turned it a little. But I can't get it to work this time. It turns a little then is tight and very hard to turn.

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Once I get it past the hard turn it loosens and turns easily a little, but tightens again. It makes me want to spray it with WD-40. But I don't want to do the wrong thing. I'm a female and don't know the correct name of parts...so patience please.

Make sure your battery is charged up. Pull the spark plugs and see if it turns over easily. If it does then the starter is good but your valves probably needs adjusting. Check the valves to see if they are 3 to 5 thousands of an inch at TDC of the power stroke. Adjust if necessary.

Did you check your carburetor? I had the same problem with my push mower and did all the things you did but it still would not start and a friend told me to check the carburetor. Took it apart and saw a little sludge on the bottom that was plugging the hole in the carburetor screw. Cleaned it out, put it back together and it started right up. The thing I learned from this was to run the mower until there is no more gas for it to run after the season is over. And to always put gas stabilizer additive in new gas to also help prevent this problem.

I have a Crafstman riding mower. I haven't used it for about nine months. Unfortunately before winter came nothing was done to "winterize" it. Now I can't get it to start. Should I change the oil? Empty the gas and refill it? As you can tell I'm not a "handyman"!

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This happened to mine while under warranty (last year). Repairman came, raised my seat & there was a little fuse or something & he pulled it out & replaced it - told me to get on & crank it. It fired off & no more problem this year with anything.

I have an older Craftsman mower with the 19.5 horse Briggs and Stratton motor that was given to me. The guy said all it needed was a drive belt because the original one broke while he was mowing and he didn't know how to fix it. Well I put a new drive belt on and now the motor won't start with the key, it doesn't make any noises or even attempt to turn over. The headlights will come on with the key, but that's it. I tested the battery and it's good, so I used a screw driver to bridge across the positive and negative side of the silenoid and the motor will turn over, but not start. What could be causing the ignition not to be able to turn over the motor?

I fixed it! Changed out my solenoid and it fired right up! but now when i put it in gear and let off the clutch it boggs down and dies, it also does the same thing when I try to disengage the blades and let off the clutch, but it runs great with the clutch pushed in, I even idled it up all the way and popped the clutch and the mower only moved like a foot then started bogging down and died again. I have no clue what could be causing this.

I have a 15.5 hp Craftsman riding mower. It has a new battery, solenoid, starter, wiring harness, fuse, and clutch and seat switches. And it still will not turn over. What else is there to replace? The motor turns over when I jump the starter.

I had a similar problem with my riding mower, would not turn over but would make a click when the ignition was turned to on. I replaced the battery, spark plug, solenoid, magneto coil, ignition switch checked harness for shorts and checked switches at the brake and lever to raise/ lower the blades and both were working as should be.

I even changed the gas and oil and nothing. I finally stumbled on the answer to my problem when I was holding the switch that depresses when the blades are raised in my hand and manually pressed it and the damn think fired up like nothing was wrong. Despite everything being ok, the switch was not positioned correctly to recognize the blades being up and was therefore not firing up when I turned the key. In other words if you know everything is working then try adjusting the position of your switches.

My 12 HP Craftsman riding mower (Model 917.254551) will not start although the motor will crank. I have changed the battery, coil, and throttle cable. There doesn't appear to be any spark when testing at the spark plug. There are gas vapors when the air filter is removed and the engine cranked. What should I check in order to get a spark at the plug?

By William

Answers

I just got a 10 hp mower it ran at the house I got it at ran when I got home. I wash it and clean it all up. Started it and it ran for 30 feet and stop running. Turns over but no spark at plug. Can smell gas even when I don't have throttle up. What's up with it?

I have a Craftsman riding mower, model 91720512, 6 speed, 42 inch cut, 14.5 Briggs and Stratton motor. I have replaced the ignition switch and starter solenoid. I was cutting grass yesterday, it was running fine and after running for about 1/2 hour, it just dies like if you get off the seat and safety switch killed it. I turned the key, no click, no crank, obviously no start. It was late so called it a day.

I checked today and thought I found the problem with a loose white crimp connector going to switch for clutch. It has a 4 pin block connector that plugs into clutch switch that clips into frame, 2 white wires and 2 black wires. I repaired the connection, nothing! I checked and replaced 30 AMP fuse, looked OK, checked battery voltage, fully charged 12.6 volts, checked wires for seat safety switch, they look OK. What next? Please help. My lawn is like a jungle! Suggestions to fix today?

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I think you may have an open ground. I have a John Deere with the same problem. I have yet to find the open ground. This is how I have to start my mower. I have a battery booster. I hook up the postive clamp of the booster to the postive side of the battery and the negative clamp to a metal part of the mower bypassing the negative battery terminal. The mower starts right up. Then I have my lady shut off the booster and unhook the clamps. If I get off the seat you know the safety devices shut down the mower.